I fully agree with that. And I do make fun of myself and other atheists as well. My boyfriend (and probably the one I will marry) was brought up Mormon. So, we have many discussions about silly things he was taught and some silly things with me. It's a strange dynamic sometimes, but it works. We have learned that, although we don't agree on a higher power, we DO hold the same principals and morals about life, marriage, and children. His is just based from religion, mine was just brought about from family, friends, and life experiences. We actually have kind of made it a "joke" that we will not be married "for all eternity" because we will not be married in the Mormon church. But, I think we both want all of our family there, and that wouldn't be possible since my family is not Mormon. I struggle a lot with understanding why only Mormons are allowed in the temple for the ceremony, because to me, that's a form of discrimination and totally against what religion should stand for. If I had full faith in a religion, then I would want to invite outsiders in and share my faith with others. But, that's just me I guess....and not being married "for all eternity" because I didn't do it their way is just another scare tactic in my eyes.... But, when I go for dinner over at his parent's house, I respect their beliefs and silently bow my head at the table while they pray. Although they are firm in their beliefs, they can make jokes about themselves as well. Very nice people. They respect my boundaries and I respect theirs.....
Firegirl, thanks for sharing. I actually lived for four years in Salt Lake City so am very familiar with the Mormons. They are great people, but too religious in my view. Did your boyfriend go on a mission? Because I seriously think that is one of the coolest things of any religion.
No, he didn't go on a mission nor did his brother. His sister was the only one out of the three that did. And I would have to say that is the only bone of contention I have with his parents. Since she went on her mission, they spoil her rotten! They bought her a brand new mustang (twice because the first got stolen), fully help her pay for college, and help pay her rent. They won't help my boyfriend or his brother with ANYTHING and when asked why, they will straight out say it was because they didn't go on a mission. Parents shouldn't even try to force religion on their kids when their grown, just wrong to treat them differently because of it!
This thread is an example of nothing except that christians like to speak but don't like to listen. It's especially odd that you should pose the question and then act as if the answer is somehow off topic. Perhaps if you wanted a thread where you get to pose rhetorical questions and have replies that consist of nothing but people agreeing with you you should go post somewhere else. Heres some advice, If you don't want to hear why i make fun of christians, don't ask me. You may not like my answer but, Well, That's just tough. your fragile feelings and your easily dismantled beliefs aren't entitled to special treatment. You are basically saying; "my belief is so defenceless, So ludicrous and so easily dismantled by even the slightest amount of scrutiny that laughing at it is unfair".
That is completely ridiculous. I agree with you 100% on this. Okay, getting on that now. Don't reply to that one, deal? Man, I thought I was so special... But hey, neither are you, you know. I did not ask you to reply to the thread. I think you are missing the point with all your angry statements, however. My whole incentive behind this discussion was to do exactly that: discus. You are not debating logically, but just making angry remarks about why your religion is so much better than everybody else's. No one will really know what religion is correct, whether there is a God or not until he or she dies. If I think you're stupid because of your particular religion, I am not going to tell you. Firegirl is an atheist and has made some great posts on this thread. You should use her posts as an example for the future. See above.
Lol! I'll give him a hug! Anyways to add to our discussion, I just found the below comment on a recently popular article about how intelligence is linked to atheism (but really it is IQ is linked to atheism, which is different). I think that most atheists are probably lashing out against this type of group mentioned above. The Church of Scientology and other false religions also add a great deterrent to religion all together. EDIT: Another comment from the beforementioned article that I found perfect for our discusion:
perhaps you could put a disclaimer in brackets every time you make a statement that you don't want people to respond to. perhaps something like; "This is my soapbox statement. Something which i feel compelled to say but inadequately equipped to counter should anyone respond to it", or alternatively, Anything that you don't want people to respond to, Keep to yourself. While i praise anyone who rejects oppression on the grounds of sexuality i can't help thinking that when christians do it it betrays a half-arsed approach to their religion. if you believe that the bible is the word of god, and you have to if you are a christian, Why wouldn't you hate "fags"? Your own god describes them as an "abomination" (someone who is loathsome and disgusting). Is your god right or wrong? Atheism isn't a religion.
I know of a better way. I will just put a statement to my signature. That way people know to only agree with everything I say. Agreed? Many Christians, including myself, do not believe the Bible was word for word by God. Obviously, the Bible was written by real people (even hardcore Christians believe this) who's times and culture affected their writings. Just because I identify myself as a Catholic and I believe in God does not mean that I would hate homosexuals. And who says I don't hate "fags" (just kidding, some of my best friends are gay). Anyways, stOx, you are going far off topic and not even addressing the original question I posted. Please do not discus which religion is the best any further in my thread. No one is going to come to an agreement. Please answer my initial question or stay out. There are thousands of other threads on DP. I am sure you can find someone else to preach your religious beliefs to.
I don't make fun of believers. But then fundamentalists from any religion piss me off big time. And there is just one reason for that. The moment I tell someone that I'm not a believer and that I'm an agnostic, they start preaching me. They immediately take the moral high ground and start talking about my so called 'ignorance', 'closed mind', etc. My question is - have you seen God? No. Not a single Christian has seen Jesus, not a single Moslem has seen Allah, and not a single Hindu has seen Lord Shiva. So, basically, you 'think', you 'hope', and you 'believe' that there is a God. It's a belief. Similarly, I 'think', I 'hope', and I 'believe' that there is no God. Unless he shows up, I won't be able to believe in this theory. So, we are both believers in different ways. So, there is absolutely no space for any frigging moron to take moral high ground and start preaching sermons, religious or otherwise.
Thanks for your response. I don't think anyone was preaching here. Maybe expect for stOx. I'm curious though, doesn't agnostic mean that you just are not sure whether there is or is not a God? You seem more atheist to me. An atheist is someone who reflects theism or the existence of any god. Oh and to answer your question, I always hear of some crazy people who say they have seen God.
So you are a fake christian who picks out which bits they like and rejects anything that is socially unacceptable. There are a lot of them around here. Actually i already answered the question you originally posted, And you cried and asked me not to talk about it. This seems to be an ongoing pattern with you. Everything i have said has been a direct response to something you have said and all you can do is keep asking me not to reply. You don't get to decide who gets to respond to what. If you don't want people to respond to what you say, Don't say it. I don't know what you are finding so hard to understand here. If you say something and i wish to respond to it, in any way i see fit, i can. It seems you want to talk to me and about me without having me respond, It's not going to happen. Isn;t there something in chritianity about not lying? Or do you forget about that bit too when lying fits your agenda and facilitates the propagation of a falsehood. Here is the rest of that definition which you so deceitfully edited; "A religion is a set of beliefs and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction."
stOx, I'm tired of wasting my time with this. Please leave my thread if you are not going to add anything meaningful. P.S. You should also look up the world "often."
Only if you look up "practices", "encompasses", "traditions", "mythology" and "mystic experience". Sorry for exposing your deceitful editing of a definition. If you don't want me to post in this thread PM a mod and have it locked. because as long as the thread is open i am entitled to post in it and respond to anything you say. It's a discussion form, Not a place for you to make claims and have only people who agree reply and not a place for you to make statements and demand people only reply in a certain way.
I don't think my religion is the "true one." I just find it is the most attuned with my beliefs. I think Buddhism is awesome as well, even though that is a completely separate religion. I also find Sufism pretty cool. I don't think Scientology is a religion, though it does fit in quite nicely with other cults. I have extensively studied the difference between religions and cults (back in university) and if you would like to defend Scientology be my guest. The reason for my previous remark was that Scientology is associated with being a religion and hence gives bad press, if you will, to all religions. Now that this thread has made me lose a lot of respect for certain atheists, let's get back on topic.
if you don't think what they preach is true then why bother practice it? where did you aquire those beliefs from? Didn't you aquire those particular beliefs because you just happened to be born in a particular place? nope, I won't defent scientology. But I don't see what's the difference between a cult and a religion. Perhaps you can enlighten me about this how are the other religions any better?
My goodness, this thread has gone way off topic. I'm sorry, but I just don't have time to be debating with people about what is the best religion. This thread was opened to try to answer a real question, not to debate every little thing. This is the exact reason why I never come into the Religion/Politics forum. iul, some of your questions were valid. Maybe another time? Can a mod please close this thread? EDIT: I have no idea how to find a mod or ask this thread to be closed so maybe it will happen magically... Maybe God will close the thread.